于清

之前去杭州西子湖四季酒店的中餐廳時，就有人告訴我，隔壁做西餐的WL Bistro西湖餐廳有一位新加坡來的大廚，還專門推出了新加坡菜單，而且“是個帥哥哦”。

我立刻拿出小本子，決意與帥哥好好聊一聊，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)這是一位特實誠的帥哥，實誠到我時不時覺得“這天是聊不下去了”。

愛上一個杭州姑娘

再愛上有她的城市

帥哥叫梁隆基，今年29歲，是杭州西子湖四季酒店的西廚副廚師長。我曾經(jīng)在西餐的廚房邊吃過飯，知道西餐里的Chef（廚師長、主廚）是多么有權(quán)威的存在，所以看到這么年輕還有點靦腆的Chef，真有點意外。

話題從他的工作經(jīng)歷開始。之前我采訪過的很多大廚，都是跑過三江六碼頭的，閱歷都很豐富，結(jié)果梁隆基就一句話：“我之前就在新加坡啊，杭州是我離開家后長住的第一個城市?！?/p>

為什么來杭州呢？“因為我太太在杭州啊?！甭犉饋響?yīng)該是一個浪漫的故事，不過從梁隆基這里說出來就很簡單了：20歲的時候在新加坡遇到了一個杭州姑娘兒，他是酒店廚師，姑娘兒是酒店里的實習生，就這么好上了。“那段時間挺不容易的”，他說，兩人在一起經(jīng)歷六年的異地戀后領(lǐng)了證，第七年的時候擺了酒，第八年他就來了杭州，今年是他們在一起的第九年。

準備一直在杭州，還是說有其他計劃？梁隆基對這個問題有點不理解：“為什么要走？我太太在杭州啊，我當然也在這里了?！?/p>

雖說說話直來直去，但這恩愛秀得還是有點讓人猝不及防。除了太太，還有什么理由留在杭州？梁隆基說：“環(huán)境特別好，綠化啊什么的，還有杭州人也很熱情。”

杭州菜首選糖醋里脊

菜單藏著對家鄉(xiāng)的思念

異地戀那幾年，梁隆基每年都要飛杭州三次，所以他對杭州菜非常熟悉，平時周末不上班的時候，還會跑去菜場買菜——杭州的很多食材都比新加坡的新鮮，對于一個廚師來說真的蠻有吸引力。杭州的家常菜，梁隆基首選糖醋里脊，他還喜歡吳山烤雞和知味觀的點心，我拿出自己的私藏安利給他，比如三毛烤雞也很好吃，還有采荷菜場的“富陽佬牛肉”和“仙居佬雞”都不錯，他都特別認真地記下了。

梁隆基為餐廳設(shè)計的新加坡菜單十分簡潔，就八道菜，包括肉骨茶、炭烤沙嗲雞肉串、叻沙、椰漿飯、炒稞條、摩摩查查等。為什么是這八個？答案非常實在，“因為這些都是我愛吃的?！边@些菜，很多食材和調(diào)料都是進口的，這是五星級酒店對品質(zhì)的把控。同時他追求的是“從小吃到大的味道”，只是在辣度上略減。我想這原汁原味，可能就是他對新加坡的一點思念吧？

很多美食都是有傳承的，所以我問梁隆基，你怎么會學做菜的？家里有人是做這個的嗎？結(jié)果他的回答是：“沒有啊，我家其他人都是老師?！?/p>

我于是隨口開了個玩笑，莫不是你讀書不行才去學廚師的？梁隆基還是很老實：“對啊”。他說自己不喜歡坐在辦公室里，一直覺得做菜挺好的。

聊到最后，我終于找到一個和主廚共同的地方：我學的第一道菜是番茄炒蛋，他學的是班尼蛋。

（部分圖片由毛若皓提供）

Love for Loves Sake

By Yu Qing

The other day I went to a Chinese restaurant at West Lake Four Seasons Hotel where I learned from a friend that there was a new chef from Singapore at WL Bistro， the next door restaurant that offers western food. The new chef launched a menu of eight dishes featuring the cuisine of Singapore. “Whats more， the chef is handsome，” the friend adds. I am curious and go to visit the chef.

The handsome 29-year-old Wilson Leong is the sous chef of West Lake Four Seasons. To my surprise， he is indeed young and somewhat shy even though I know such a chef is a top authority figure at the restaurant.

Unlike the chefs I have interviewed before who usually boast a wide range of travels and wok experience in many cities and even across the world， Wilson Leong has a simple and straightforward career. “I worked in Singapore and Hangzhou is the first city I have stayed for a long time after Singapore，” he confesses.

He came to Hangzhou simply because his wife is a native of Hangzhou. It sounds like a big romance， but the version he gives sounds quite simple. At 20， he met a girl from Hangzhou. He was a chef and the girl was a trainee. The two fell in love and they kept the relationship alive and burning for six years even though he was in Singapore and she in Hangzhou. In the sixth year， they married. And in the seventh year， they held a wedding banquet. In the eighth year， he came to Hangzhou. The year 2019 is the ninth year they have been together.

Why Hangzhou of all cities？ Is there any plan to move to some other cities？ Wilson Leong is puzzled by my questions. “Why would I leave？ My wife is in Hangzhou and I am certainly where she is，” says the young chef. Is there any other reason to stay in Hangzhou？ “The ecology is excellent. You see trees everywhere. And local people are friendly and warmhearted.”

Wilson Leong flew to Hangzhou three times a year when he was in Singapore and his girlfriend in Hangzhou. These short visits exposed him to the culinary delights of Hangzhou. Nowadays， he is very familiar with the local cuisine. During weekends when he is not working， he does shopping at local food markets. These food markets offer very fresh food materials and ingredients， which attract him as a chef. Of home-made delicacies of Hangzhou Cuisine， Pork Fillet with Sweet and Sour Sauce is his favorite. He also likes Wu Hill Roasted Chicken and pastry delicacies of Zhi Wei Guan Restaurant.

The Singaporean menu he designed for WL Bistro is simple enough： it is a menu of eight Singaporean delights including Bak Kut Teh， Chicken Satay Skewer， Laksa， Coconut Rice， Fried Kway Teow and Bo Bo Cha Cha. Whats so special about these eight delicacies？ The answer comes straightforward again. “Thats because they are my favorites.” The food ingredients and seasonings for these eight dishes are imported， reflecting the quality control of the five-star hotel where he works. The chef maintains the original flavor of the delicacies that he has enjoyed all his life since his toddler years. For ordinary diners and gourmets in Hangzhou， the young chef slightly reduces the hotness of these dishes.

I ask Leong how he started as a chef and whether anyone in his family works as a chef. Again to my surprise， he says he is the only chef in the family. All others are teachers. I jokingly ask if he wanted to be a chef simply because he wasnt academically brilliant. His answer is laconic again， “Right.” He doesnt have a passion for office work. He thinks it nice to cook.

The interview ends when we compare our favorite dishes. At last I find we have something common to us. The first dish I learned to cook was an egg dish. So was the first dish he learned to cook.